Pregnant hedgehog dies along with her three babies after being stoned and kicked in street by ‘evil’ gang of boys – as police appeal for witnesses
- A group of youngsters, thought to be aged 12-13, were attacking the hedgehog
- Two people tried to intervene on the brutal attack on Porters Park Drive, Shenley
- London Colney Hedgehog Rescue branded the gang of thugs as ‘evil children’
An ‘evil’ gang of teenagers stoned and kicked a pregnant hedgehog and her three babies to death.
A group of boys, believed to be aged 12 and 13, were spotted attacking the helpless creature by two passers by on Porters Park Drive in Shenley, Hertfordshire, at around 7pm on Monday 20 June.
The pair intervened, but were abused by the teenagers, who then made off down an alleyway.
Hertfordshire Constabulary are appealing for witnesses in the brutal attack, which killed the mother hedgehog and her three unborn hoglets.
London Colney Hedgehog Rescue found she had suffered a number of serious injuries, including spinal damage, the loss of sight in one eye, a broken leg and a fractured jaw.
The mother was put to sleep a week after the ordeal, after the vets found they could not heal the roof of her broken mouth.
The devastating damage had caused an open area to her nasal cavity resulting in her unable to eat.
She then gave birth to her three hoglets who died shortly after.
An ‘evil’ gang of teenagers stoned and kicked a pregnant hedgehog (pictured) and her three babies to death on Porters Park Drive in Shenley, Radlett in Hertfordshire at around 7pm on Monday 20 June
Pc Dan Hill of Hertfordshire Constabulary said: ‘We are a nation of animal lovers so I’m sure that many of you will be appalled by this incident.
‘I would like to reassure the local community that we do take animal cruelty seriously.
‘The Rural Operational Support Team, who specialise in dealing with rural and wildlife crime, will be assisting us with this investigation.
‘If you were in the area at the time and saw what happened or have dash cam footage or CCTV or any other information that could help us to identify those involved please get in touch as soon as possible.’
The rescuers have branded the thugs as ‘evil children’ but said it will not deter them from releasing rehabilitated hedgehogs into the wild.
A group of boys, thought to be aged 12 and 13, were seen attacking the helpless creature by two passers by, who intervened, but were abused by the teenagers who then made off down an alleyway. Hertfordshire Constabulary are appealing for witnesses in the brutal attack
The organisation said in a Facebook post: ‘She had deteriorated and was unable to eat. The injury in the roof of her mouth was too severe to heal and impossible to stitch.
‘Both the vets and I made the decision to let her go whilst she was under anaesthetic.
‘And trust me (if anyone knows me) and as a hedgehog rescue, we don’t give up lightly on mending all sorts of injuries and rehabilitating them back into the wild.’
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